This invention relates generally to testing devices, products, or articles of manufacture (hereinafter referred to collectively as “devices”).
After being manufactured, most devices are subjected to at least some testing before being sold or incorporated into other products. For example, newly manufactured semiconductor dies may be subjected to one or more types of tests. For example, the dies may be subjected to wafer probing tests while still in wafer form. The dies may be subjected to further testing before or after being singulated and still further testing after being integrated into an electronics module. Such tests may be designed to determine whether the dies are good or bad, or the tests may be designed to rate the performance of the dies. As another example, semiconductor dies may be burned in, which may involve at least exercising the dies while subjecting the dies to elevated or reduced temperatures. As is known, burn in tends to accelerate the appearance of latent defects in the dies. (As used herein, the term “test” (or any form of the word “test”) is intended to broadly cover any activity intended to rate a device or determine the operability or operating parameters of the device or whether the device is good or bad and thus includes, among other things, exercising the device during a process like burn in that is intended to accelerate failure of the device.)
No matter how a device is tested, there is a need to control efficiently the testing of the device. As described below, exemplary embodiments of this invention include a remotely located central test facility that efficiently controls testing at one or more local test sites.